‘Sexism, ageism and misogyny’: Madonna criticises Instagram for taking down risqué photos
Madonna has hit out at Instagram for taking down provocative photographs in which her nipple was exposed.
The 63-year-old star had shared a series of risqué pictures of herself on and underneath a bed, wearing a cut-out bra, a thong, fishnet tights and high heels, which made headlines earlier in the week.
Resharing the images with a few well-placed emojis on Thursday, Madonna said the originals had been removed “without warning or notification” and that Instagram had told her management it was because “a small portion” of the star’s nipple was exposed.
The star pictured at the MTV Video Music Awards in September. Pic: Charles Sykes/Invision/AP
She has always been known for pushing boundaries with fashion. Pic: AP Photo/Sean Kardon/ 1990
According to Instagram’s community guidelines, nudity is banned but there are exceptions for photos for health reasons, such as post-mastectomy scarring, and women breastfeeding. Nudity in photos of paintings and sculptures is allowed, too.
“It is still astounding to me that we live in a culture that allows every inch of a woman’s body to be shown except a nipple,” the singer said. “As if that is the only part of a woman’s anatomy that could be sexualized. The nipple that nourishes the baby! Can’t a mans nipple be experienced as erotic ??!!
“And what about a woman’s ass which is never censored anywhere. Giving thanks that I have managed to maintain my sanity through four decades of censorship…… sexism……ageism and misogyny.”
Madonna finished her post with the hashtag: #artistsareheretodisturbthepeace.
As well as her music, Madonna is almost as famous for pushing boundaries with fashion and her choices of explicit outfits over the decades.
In the early days of her career, she pioneered the “underwear as outerwear” trend by wearing a corset body suit with conical bra cups, designed by Jean Paul Gaultier.
And in 2016, the star attended the Met Gala in a bondage-inspired Givenchy outfit featuring leather, lace, thigh-high boots, a thong and nipple pasties.
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Sky News has contacted Instagram for comment on her recent photos.
In 2020, the photo-sharing app updated its rules to allow pictures of women holding, cupping or wrapping their arms around their breasts.
Earlier this year, the social media site apologised for removing the official film poster for Spanish director Pedro Almodóvar’s Madres Paralelas (Parallel Mothers), which showed a lactating female nipple, for breaking its rules on nudity.
After reinstating the images, it said exceptions could be made “to allow nudity in certain circumstances, which includes when there’s clear artistic context”.
The Senate has passed $95bn (£76.2bn) in war aid to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan after months of delays and rows – with Joe Biden set to sign the legislation later.
The bill passed the Senate on an overwhelming 79-18 vote late on Tuesday after the House had approved the package on Saturday.
Once signed, the president will start the process of sending weapons to Ukraine, which has been struggling to hold its front lines against Russia.
The legislation would also send $26bn (£20bn) in wartime assistance to Israel and humanitarian relief to citizens of Gaza, and $8bn (£6.4bn) to counter Chinese threats in Taiwan and the Indo-Pacific.
Analysis:
What US aid package means for war in Ukraine
US officials said about $1bn (£802,000) worth of the aid could be on its way shortly, with the bulk following in the coming weeks.
In an interview with The Associated Press shortly before the vote, Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer said if Congress had not passed the aid, “America would have paid a price economically, politically, militarily”.
“Very few things we have done have risen to this level of historic importance,” he said.
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On the Senate floor, Mr Schumer said the Senate was sending a message to US allies: “We will stand with you.”
Mr Schumer and Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell argued there could be dire consequences for the US and many of its allies if Russian President Vladimir Putin’s aggression is left unchecked.
The pair worked with House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Republican, to overcome seemingly intractable Republican opposition to the Ukraine aid.
The House approved the package in a series of four votes on Saturday, with the Ukraine portion passing 311-112.
The $61bn (£48.1bn) for Ukraine comes as the war-torn country desperately needs new firepower and as Mr Putin has stepped up his attacks.
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Zelenskyy ‘grateful’ for US package
Ukrainian soldiers have struggled as Russia has seized the momentum on the battlefield and gained significant territory.
Mr Biden told Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Monday the US will send badly needed air defence weaponry as soon as the legislation is passed.
“The President has assured me that the package will be approved quickly and that it will be powerful, strengthening our air defence as well as long-range and artillery capabilities,” Mr Zelenskyy said in a post on X on Monday.
US
Newspaper chief was Donald Trump’s ‘eyes and ears’ and ‘killed unfavourable stories about him’, court hears
A newspaper chief was Donald Trump’s “eyes and ears” and killed unfavourable stories about him in the run-up to the 2016 election, a court has heard.
Trump has made history as the first former US president to face a criminal trial.
He stands accused of paying hush money to porn star Stormy Daniels in an effort to cover up their alleged affair and falsifying business records in order to do so.
David Pecker, the former boss of publisher AMI, took the stand as the first witness in the trial, as he described participating in a “catch and kill” scheme with Trump and Trump’s lawyer Michael Cohen to bury unfavourable press coverage during the 2016 presidential campaign.
Manhattan’s criminal court also heard Mr Pecker, who signed a “non-prosecution” agreement with prosecutors after AMI admitted to making hush-money payments, describe his role as being the “eyes and ears” for Trump.
Mr Pecker said he would flag stories to Mr Cohen, who would check if they were true or not. This agreement was never put in writing but Mr Pecker divulged it to Dylan Howard, editor-in-chief of the National Enquirer, one of his publications.
Catch up: how the day unfolded in court
Trump waits for the start of proceedings. Pic Reuters
Mr Pecker told the court of a meeting he attended in August 2015 with Trump, Mr Cohen, and Hope Hicks, the communications director for the former president.
‘I would be the eyes and ears’
He said: “At that meeting with Donald Trump, they asked me what can I do to help the campaign.
“I said what I would do is I would run or publish positive stories about Mr Trump, and I would publish negative stories about his opponents.
“I said that I would also be the eyes and ears.”
In particular, Mr Pecker said that he would notify Cohen if he heard any negative stories relating to Trump and alleged relations with any women “because Mr Trump was well known as the most eligible bachelor and dated the most beautiful women”.
He added: “It was clear that, based on my past experience, that when someone was running for public office like this, it is very common for these women to call up magazines like the National Enquirer to try to sell their stories.”
The court heard of one such example where Mr Pecker paid $30,000 (£24,000) to buy a story about Trump allegedly fathering an illegitimate baby with a maid.
Trump was accused of hatching a “catch and kill” scheme to bury unfavourable press coverage during the 2016 presidential campaign. Pic: Reuters
Trump waves to crowds outside court. Pic: Reuters
Mr Pecker said: “I immediately called Michael Cohen and told him exactly what I was told.
“I gave the name of the housekeeper in the penthouse and asked him to verify it first with the Trump Organisation payroll.”
Buying off negative press
Mr Pecker bought the story but said investigators found the story to be untrue and says Cohen told him it was “absolutely not true”.
He added: “I made the decision to buy the story because it could have been embarrassing to the campaign and Mr Trump.”
Hanging over today’s proceedings were allegations that Trump violated a gag order in social media posts and on his campaign website.
The gag order restricted Trump’s public speech on jurors, potential witnesses and some others involved in the case.
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Prosecutors asked the judge to fine Trump $10,000 (£8,000) for ten online posts they say violated the order, but the judge hadn’t made a decision by the end of the day’s proceedings.
Political opponents targeted
However, alongside protecting Trump’s image, the court heard that Mr Pecker allegedly targeted his political opponents.
He said: “I would run a Hillary Clinton story as being the enabler to a womaniser.”
The prosecution asked: “Did you believe it helped Trump’s campaign?”
Mr Pecker told the court it was mutually beneficial because it led to newspaper sales and benefited Trump’s campaign.
The court was told that Mr Pecker’s publisher would also run stories about Trump’s Republican opponents “based on the success of some of the candidates”.
He added: “I would receive a call from Michael Cohen, and he would direct me and direct Dylan Howard which candidate and which direction we should go.”
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National Enquirer headlines
Some headlines published by the Enquirer included:
• Bungling Surgeon Ben Carson Left Sponge in Patient’s Brain!
• Ted Cruz Shamed by Porn Star
• Boozin’ Ted Cruz Fixin’ To Lose
• Shocking Claims: Pervy Ted Cruz Caught Cheating – With 5 Secret Mistresses
• Anonymous Threat! Hackers Threaten Ted Cruz with Alleged Prostitution
• Donald Trump Blasts Ted Cruz’s Dad for Photo with JFK Assassin
Also amid today’s proceedings, it emerged that Mr Pecker was one of the first people to encourage Trump to run for president.
In early 2015, Mr Pecker says he told Trump that 80% of the readership of the National Enquirer wanted him to run for president.
He received an invitation to the announcement that Trump would run, made in June 2015, which the court heard read: “No one deserves to be there more than you.”
More than 100 students and staff were arrested at New York University (NYU) last night as protests around the Israel-Hamas war reached a boiling point.
Recent days have seen an escalation of long-running largely pro-Palestinian protests in some of the country’s most prestigious educational establishments.
Protesters at NYU, Columbia and Yale have made various demands of their universities, including that they end their relationships with universities in Israel, take stronger action over the war and divest from military weapons manufacturers who have links to Israel.
It has led to growing tensions on campus which have become hotbeds for protest, as some Jewish students have said they have been left fearing for their safety.
Last night was the latest development in the on-running demonstrations at US universities. Pic Shutterstock
Mass demonstrations have swept US universities since the 7 October attacks by Hamas, and Israel’s response which is reported to have killed over 30,000 Palestinians in Gaza.
Protests reached boiling point on Monday night as universities took action and police were called in.
At NYU, officers moved on the crowds shortly after they set the demonstration a 4pm deadline to disperse, and claimed that protesters were joined by people “whom we believe were not affiliated with NYU”.
Several tents had been set up in the plaza where many were protesting in. A group of pro-Israel counter-protesters had also been in the plaza Monday afternoon.
Eyewitness:
Protests encapsulate moment of febrile divisiveness where nuance is too often lost
On Monday evening, a line of university staff members linked arms in front of the protesters to protect them from police before they were arrested and taken away themselves.
As demonstrators tussled with officers they chanted: “We will not stop, we will not rest. Disclose. Divest.”
Police appeared to use mace on protesters, with one student saying it was used “liberally”.
A spokesperson for the NYPD confirmed that 120 people were taken into custody – 116 of whom were released with summonses for trespass, giving them a future date to appear before a judge or magistrate.
The remaining four were issued with desk appearance tickets for more serious offences – meaning they are required to appear at a criminal court on a future date.
NYPD deputy commissioner Kaz Daughtry said the university had requested for police to come to the campus, adding: “Our officers responded to the location without delay and dispersed the crowd – making numerous arrests, as necessary.”
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At Yale University in Connecticut, protests were reported to have grown to “include several hundred people – Yale undergraduates, graduate and professional students, and people with no Yale affiliation”, according to a statement from the university.
It added that the Yale Police Department issued summonses for 47 students.
Protesters at US universities set up camps – seen here at Columbia. Pic: Reuters
Police officers have been called into a number of US campuses. Pic: Reuters
Last week, more than 100 students at Columbia University in New York were arrested after the administration called to report the students as a danger to campus.
NYPD chief of patrol John Chell told the student newspaper there were no reports of violence or injuries and that the students were “peaceful, offered no resistance whatsoever.”
Robert Kraft, a major donor to Columbia who is Jewish and the billionaire owner of the New England Patriots, has threatened to pull his money from the university, saying: “I am not comfortable supporting the university until corrective action is taken.”
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Pro-Palestinian protests have also been set up at the University of Michigan, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and California State Polytechnic University, Humboldt.
The NYPD, NYU and Columbia have all been approached for comment.
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